


The hallow wind must push us both together

by what_a_gust



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, With A Twist, chris hates snowboarders, doesn't say anywhere in the text but i imagine this is set in lake tahoe, even though i've never been there, ski weekend meets meet cute, tobin is ski patrol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:21:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28036098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/what_a_gust/pseuds/what_a_gust
Summary: There's nothing like getting your mind changed by a charming stranger while stuck on a chairlift during a long weekend visit to a ski resort.
Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press
Comments: 10
Kudos: 174
Collections: Preathfics Winter 2020 Collection





	The hallow wind must push us both together

That moment between when you know something bad is going to happen and when it actually does happen always manages to last long enough to fill you with dread but never long enough for you to actually do something about it.

That was how Christen felt, at least, when she heard the unmistakable sound of snowboard edge against ice followed by a chorus of teen-boy laughter but couldn’t manage to duck away from the spray of snow and ice that followed. With the snow soaking her gaiter and under the collar of her parka, she tried in vain to scoop out the solid chunks of ice before they too melted into cold and dirty water.

Now, standing in line for the chairlift, her mood is thunderous at best. She just keeps imagining breaking that stupid board in half. She knows she should try to think of something else, but with Tyler back at the lodge on a work call and Fran refusing to even try to learn how to ski (despite agreeing to a ski vacation), there’s no one to distract her from her fury.

As she approaches the front of the line, Christen glances around trying to count out who she might end up getting paired with. The only lift to the top of the mountain is a double and it is on the opposite side of the face from the terrain parks so she’s hoping that decreases her odds of having to endure the company of a snowboarder.

As the tips of her skis meet the line of orange painted in the snow, she glances to her right and is delighted to see a skier next to her. The delight lasts only a moment before a person in a red coat and an orange snowboard in hand says, “ ‘scuse me, sir. Ski Patrol. I need to get up there for my shift.” The skier next to her steps aside and the snowboarder tucks into the empty space.

As she feels the chair bump the back of her knees, Christen can’t help but roll her eyes at stupid fate for making her endure the company of a snowboarder she can’t even feel good about being mad at because the particular snowboarder in her company is a godforsaken employee of the mountain.

Christen likes to think of herself as friendly. Or, if not friendly, at least courteous and kind. However, in this particular case, collar still soggy from those boys, she thinks there’s little harm in giving the cold shoulder to someone who probably won’t even notice. For emphasis, she turns as far to the left as she can, angling her skis so that she can rest her right elbow on the safety bar and keep her company out of sight and, thus, out of mind.

In the end, neither last very long when she hears, “So, you come here often?” in a cheery tone that seems to completely ignore all of Christen’s carefully executed body language.

Unfortunately, completely ignoring an innocent stranger strapped into a hanging piece of metal next to her is stooping a little low, all things considered so she answers curtly, “Nope, just visiting.”

“Well, lovely to meet you, visitor. I’m Tobin,” at this point, Tobin sticks out a gloved hand, clearly expecting Christen to introduce herself.

_ Why _ , she thinks,  _ did I need to get paired with the one polite snowboarder in the entire world when I just want to sulk and be soggy in peace. _ “I’m Christen, nice to meet you too,” she offers before quickly turning away, hoping it’s clear she doesn’t want to continue the conversation.

“Well, Christen, what brings you out this way? Usually people who are just visiting aren’t on their own.” Tobin seems not to have gotten the hint but her question is so earnest that Christen can’t bring herself to be annoyed.

She swings her skis off the bar and turns toward Tobin before hooking them back up, “I’m here for the weekend with my sister and my best friend but my sister is a lawyer who is allergic to taking the day off and my best friend doesn’t ski. Hence, I’m out here alone.”

Tobin’s laugh bubbles up in a way that makes Christen have to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from grinning. “Why would she come if she doesn’t ski? That doesn’t make any sense…”

“Honestly, Tobin, I couldn’t tell ya. When she said she wanted to come, I assumed it was because she was finally willing to give it a try but it seems that the hot tub and a good tv setup is enough for her. And, anyways, we’re only here until tomorrow so she can make do.”

Tobin seems to accept that for an answer, though the crinkles around her eyes suggest she’s still rather puzzled. Her laugh is warm and, against her better judgment, Christen’s crankiness melts away.

They’re just about to crest the final ascent when, suddenly, the ski lift swings to a halt. “Hmm, that’s not good,” Tobin reaches into the breast pocket of her jacket to pull out her walkie. She turns it on and adjusts the dial until a sound comes in.

_ Child stuck at dismount of Lift 4. Lift stationary until further notice. _

“Very not good, Tobin! Is that kid gonna be okay?” Christen asks, sounding panicked. “You’re ski patrol, shouldn’t you do something?”

“I’m sure they’re handling it just fine, the hold up is probably that the kid is scared and not listening more than anything. And besides, I’m sorta stuck up here with you, there’s not much I can do. But if it’ll make you feel better, I can keep my radio on for updates.”

“I think that would make me feel better. Are you sure the kid is going to be okay? Stuck sounds bad. Like really bad,” Christen starts to ramble, working herself up as she goes.

Tobin reaches out and puts her gloved hand on Christen’s shoulder, “I promise you that, as an experienced professional, stuck means a minor inconvenience. If it was really serious, there’d be quite a bit more chatter. The kid just probably started to get off too early and slipped and they just need to be able to move them out of the way to check for injuries before we can keep going.”

“That really didn’t make me feel as better as I thought it was going to,” Christen mutters while nervously tugging at the zipper of her jacket. The chair is bouncing gently in the mountain wind and Christen’s fidgeting doesn’t help. “Can you just use your walkie to ask if things are okay?”

“I know you mean well but I don’t want to interrupt them while they’re working. I promise that when we get to the top, I’ll get the full rundown and report back to you. In the meantime, why don’t you tell me why you were in such a foul mood when we got on this thing?”

Christen scoffs in disbelief that Tobin would be so frank after only knowing each other for a few minutes. “If you knew I was in a bad mood, why did you start talking to me? If I notice someone is in a bad mood and I don’t know them, I usually just let them be.”

“Well,” Tobin replies, “I’ll have you know that I’m quite charming and I figured that I could make you feel better. Which obviously worked until we hit a snag that was out of my control so I take that as a win. Plus you still haven’t answered my question…”

With her arms crossed in contempt, Christen turns away from Tobin.  _ Why is every single snowboarder so cocky? This is ridiculous _ . She indulges her negativity for a moment before taking a deep breath and realizing that they are literally trapped on the ski lift together so she might as well take Tobin up on the offer of a conversation as a means to distract herself from worry and the cold.

“Fine, it’s because a snowboarder sprayed me when I was stopped at the base deciding on my next run and then all of his friends laughed at me and the snow got inside my sweater and melted so it’s soggy. I think that’s reason enough to be in a bad mood, if you ask me. Which you did. So, I won’t be accepting any criticism.”

Tobin’s laugh flows through her whole body, adding to the movement of their chair, “Sounds like you’re a bit prejudiced against my kind there, Miss Christen. I think the issue is less snowboarders and more teen boys, if you were to ask me. Which you did not. But I stand by my analysis anyway.”

“Hmm. Well, you being right is not going to make this better for either of us, I suggest you let me win now,” Christen shrugs, unsure herself how serious she is.

Tobin clicks her tongue, “Unfortunately for you, I am super competitive so any winning you do will have to be fair and square.”

“We’ll see about that,” Christen caves into a conspiratorial smile.

A silence fills the space between them and Christen thinks that it should feel more awkward than it does considering they’ve just met. She doesn’t let herself think about it though, “It’s not like it means anything. We’re leaving tomorrow,” she tells herself.

“What?” Tobin asks, gesturing that she couldn’t hear.

And, suddenly, Christen’s cheeks redden in embarrassment. Luckily for her, her cheeks are well covered by her gaiter so Tobin can’t see. “Oh nothing, I was just talking to myself and I guess it came out out loud. It does that sometimes. Old habit.”

“That’s an interesting habit to pick up, who’d you get it from?” Tobin relaxes back into the chair like she’s ready for a long story.

But, before Christen is able to answer, Tobin’s walkie beeps and then a voice says  _ Lift 4 all clear, I repeat, Lift 4 all clear _ . And just like that, the ski lift swings back into motion, slowly at first and then picking up speed.

“Told ya everything would be fine,” Tobin jokingly elbows Christen in the arm.

Christen sighs, “Ugh, I guess you were right, you’re lucky I’m not a sore loser,” with which she gets the desired outcome of making Tobin laugh.

“I’m gonna call your bluff on that one, you’re definitely a sore loser. Anyone who’s as competitive as we are has to be.”

“Who said I’m competitive?” Christen asks, feigning offense.

Tobin turns her head to the sky as if looking around for someone else who could have contributed that insight, “Well, seeing as there’s only two of us in this conversation, I guess it must have been, hmm, let me think, everything about you.”

“In that case, I think, when your shift is over, you should meet me at the lodge for a game of billiards and we’ll see who’s a sore loser then,” Christen surprises them both with her forwardness as Tobin raises the safety bar.

“Sounds like an offer I’d be a fool to refuse. When we get off, just slide over to the left and stay put. I’ll find out what happened and then we can debrief and make a plan for later,” Tobin offers, clipping her boots back into her board.

~ _7 hours later_ ~

Christen walks into the lodge, hair freshly dried from her post-ski shower, with Tyler and Fran close behind her. It takes her a minute to spot Tobin leaning casually against the pool table in the corner. “Guys, that’s her,” she nods her head as subtle in Tobin’s direction as she can.

“Damn, she’s hot. Nice one, Chris,” Tyler laughs at how quickly Christen’s face reddens as she pulls them over to the bar on the opposite side of the hall.

Once the bartender has brought over their drinks, Christen takes a swing of hers and asks, “Will you both just be chill and wait for us here? If this goes well, I think I’ll ask her to join us for dinner.”

“Ay, ay, captain,” Tyler salutes Christen, making Fran laugh and Christen roll her eyes as she walks away.

~ ~

“Hey, Tobin?” Christen asks, holding out a beer.

“That’s me, what’d ya get us?” Tobin sets her drink down on the window sill and turns to rack the balls.

“I got you the IPA on tap,” she grabs a cue from the holder on the wall, “I hope that’s okay? I never asked what you like.”

“Totally fine, I’m not picky. What are we playing for?” Tobin asks, chalking her cue.

Christen breaks before replying, “Winner buys the next round?”

“In that case, good thing I know you’re too competitive to be able to lose on purpose,” Tobin’s retort comes as she banks two stripes in one go.

~ ~

It becomes clear that Christen is not good at pool very quickly. And Tobin is just as quick to tease her about it. 

“Y’know, I really would have just bought you a drink if you told me you were interested, you didn’t have to go through all that trouble of pretending you were gonna hustle me,” Tobin laughs as they make their way back over to the bar where Tyler and Fran are waiting dutifully.

Christen smiles at Tobin bashfully, “Well, I needed to be sure you were interested too. I can only take so many losses in one day!”

“Fair enough,” Tobin shrugs then signals to the bartender that she wants another round for them. When they arrive, she hands one pint to Christen, “Let’s toast this round to a win for both of us. I’m glad we got stuck on the lift together and that I got to turn your afternoon around.”

Christen raises her glass toward Tobin, “I’m glad I got stuck with you too. Cheers!” 

They clink their glasses and Christen lowers her voice, “Just wanna confirm, you’re down to meet Ty and Fran and come to dinner with us? If you need to back out, no worries.”

“Yes, Christen, you can be sure I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. I can feel your sister staring us down. Plus, I’m starved! Take me over there and let’s get this party started,” Tobin wraps her arm around Christen’s shoulder, being careful not to jostle their drinks.

Just before they reach Tyler and Fran, Tobin leans over to whisper in Christen’s ear, “I really am glad I met you. I have a feeling this competition is long from over.”

Christen gently knocks her shoulder against Tobin’s, “I have that feeling too.”

**Author's Note:**

> hmu @ what-a-gust on tumblr if you want any backstory on who they are in this au lol also major kudos to whatname0523 and wnnbh12 for their encouragement and support!


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